The Centre Cannot Hold >> 1770

1770 – Ludwig van Beethoven born

Generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of the classical composers, Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, in what is now Germany. However, most of his early creative life was spent in Vienna, where he studied music under the tutelage of Joseph Haydn. Exposed to works by other composers of Vienna (notably Mozart and Bach), Beethoven nonetheless developed his own distinctive style.

At the age of 26, Beethoven began to develop tinnitus, an affliction which would slowly rob him of his hearing entirely. Undaunted, he continued to compose, play and conduct music, and many of his greatest works were written at a time when he was either partially or completely deaf.

The date given here for his birth is actually that of his baptism – no conclusive record exists of his actual birthdate, although it is unlikely to have been more than a week or so earlier.

Referenced in:

Green Onions — The Blues Brothers

1770 – Captain Cook’s expedition sights the east coast of Australia

It had already been a long voyage – the Endeavour had been at sea since August 1768 – when the eastern coast of Australia was first sighted. Lieutenant Hicks made the sighting, and Cook named the point he had discovered in Hicks’ honour. Point Hicks is located near the eastern extremity of the state of Victoria, between Orbost and Mallacoota. Although he had been aiming for Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), Cook quickly realised that he had found a separate landmass to the north of it, based on the the south-westerly trend of the coastline away from Point Hicks.

From here, Cook and his crew proceeded northward along the coast of Australia. Ten days later, he made his famous landing at Botany Bay and encountered the Australian natives for the first time (members of the Gweagal tribe) – although from observations of their many campfires, Cook had been aware of them (and presumably, they of him) for several days by that ppint.

Referenced in:

Solid Rock — Goanna

1770 – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is born

Hegel was one of the most influential philosophers of his time. He built upon the work of Kant, Descartes, Hume and others – his work assumes a familiarity with the writings of many of his predecessors – and Hegel himself was an influence on any number of the philosophers who followed him, notably Karl Marx and Theodor Adorno.

Hegel lived to be 61 years old, and spent most of his adult life studying and writing in a total of eight different German universities. He wrote four books: Phenomenology of Spirit (1807); Science of Logic (published in three volumes: 1811, 1812 & 1816); Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences (1816) and Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1822).

Referenced in:

Bruces’ Philosophers Song – Monty Python

The Centre Cannot Hold

1770 – Ludwig van Beethoven born

1770 – Captain Cook’s expedition sights the east coast of Australia

1770 – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is born

Navigation

Tags

Follow TCCH

Search

Australian Politics

Blogs

Discordia

Nerdcore

Wordpress

World Politics